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A book's index is, in a sense, its final chapter; just as much as an introduction or conclusion, an analytical index elucidates and makes coherent the content and themes of a book. Compiling an index is not a mechanical exercise, but an indispensable scholarly contribution
I'm about to embark on indexing a 650-page edited collection in 12 days. Can that be done? I'm about to find out...
Publishers frequently assign two weeks (or less) to the composition of the index, regardless of a book's length - which is fine, an index can be written in that time - but it sometimes makes me sad that publishers so often treat the index as a last-minute exercise...
Indexers are professionals who can handle tight timetables, but I sometimes wish that indexes were considered *worthy* of time and attention in and of themselves
